De-bunking the myths of English Cookery
One delicious recipe at a time

Recipes that are delicious and that always work!

You know these recipes are delicious because if I didn't think that they were fabulous . . . I wouldn't be showing them to you. You can also be sure that these recipes work for the same reason! The rest is simply a matter of taste.

Featured On

Search This Blog

I Won!

Follow this blog with bloglovin

Followers

Follow by Email

E-Mail Me

Thank You

Did You Know???

Make Your Own Self Raising Flour:You can make your own self raising flour by adding 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt to every cup of plain flour.

Make Your Own Baking Powder:You can make your own baking powder by combining 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda with 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar. It's ideal for coeliac sufferers who can't find the gluten-free variety of this raising agent, but measure it out carefully because too much or too little can upset a recipe's balance.

Make Your Own Mixed Spice:You can easily make your own mixed spice: Combine 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 1 tsp each of ground coriander and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and all spice. Mix well and store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.

Make Your Own Cajun Seasoning: Mix together 2 1/2 TBS of salt, 1 TBS dried oregano leaves (Rub to a powder using your fingertips), 1 TBS sweet paprika, 1 TBS cayenne pepper, and 1 TBS ground black pepper. Store in an airtight container out of the light for up to six months.Make Your Own Pumpkin Pie Spice: Mix together 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of ground mace or ground cardamom. Store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.

Welcome to my English Kitchen. I moved over here to England from Canada in the year 2000. Before I arrived, I was told that the cooking and food over here was awful, except for the Roast Beef and the Fish and Chips. I had no idea of what to expect, but it didn't sound good.
I landed at Heathrow with a bulging suitcase full of kitchen tools, handwritten recipes and a 4 litre can of Maple Syrup, totally prepared to be greeted with the worst.
I am happy to say that over the past 16 years I have discovered that most of what I had heard was totally and completelywrong!
Here in the UK we have some of the best poultry, meats, fishes, ingredients and produce in the world, and some of the most innovative chefs. I have learned so much about cooking in the past fifteen years, and I've enjoyed trying and experiencing many new things, thankfully most of them wonderfully delicious!
I love English food . . . both the traditional, and the wonderful blend that is modern British Cuisine . . . a delicious mixture of a variety of tastes and cultures.
I hope you'll come along with me as I explore all the wonderful tastes, sights and textures that England has to offer even the most discerning of palates.

Marie Rayner cooks and writes from a little terraced house where she lives with her man the Toddster, and their little pup Mitzie.

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

What to eat now!

...

Buy My Cookbook

A lot of you have suggested that I write a cookbook. The good news is I already have. Recipes From The Big Blue Binder. A delicious sampling of all my tried and trues, and family favourites gleaned from a lifetime of love and good cookin'! Find such favourites asBanana Granola Pancakes, Mom's Split Pea Soup, Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza, and Grammy Woodworth's Blueberry Buckleto name but a few. 178 pages of delicious recipes and beautiful colour pictures, available as a lovely book or as a download. You can click on the book to go to my storefront to purchase. If you already own it, please feel free to leave feedback on my Lulu page. Thanks so much!

I'd love to hear from you!

Wednesday, 25 November 2015

Finding a dessert during the holidays that is diabetic friendly and good for those who are slimming can be a real challenge. I think I have come up with the perfect solution. It is diet friendly, light, sugar free and it actually tastes delicious. It will never quite replace cake or pie . . . but it's nice nevertheless.

Not only that, but it's very easy to do, and I am betting you have everything in your cupboard right now to make it. You only need to let the jelly set for several hours or overnight, but the actual putting together of it, is relatively simple and quite quickly done.

You start with a tin of pineapple slices in juice, and some sugar free jelly powder. (Jello) You pick the flavour you want. I used strawberry, but lemon lime would be great. The well drained slices are layered in the empty pineapple tin with the jelly which is mixed at double strength, meaning you only use half the water required. You then just stick it in the refrigerator until it's totally jelled.

Like that. Then you heat the can gently to loosen it and remove the bottom lid of the tin and push it out onto a cutting board.

See what I mean? Then you tip it onto it's side and using a very sharp knife . . .

Slice in between the pineapple rings seperating them totally. You then just put them onto a pretty plate.

Stick half a maraschino cherry on top (well rinsed). I used Greek ones. Yummy. Surround with some green tinted unsweetened coconut which you have added a drop of peppermint flavour to and Bob's your Uncle!

A dollop of plain yogurt or some whipped cream (if you are feeling a tiny bit indulgent) and dessert is served! It's attractive. Low in fat and sugar. And it tastes pretty good! No need to feel guilty. Everybody's happy and I bet the kids will be fighting over it. More mince pies for you!

This
is so simple to do. The day before you want to serve this, drain your
pineapple slices really well and lay them out onto paper toweling to
absorb any extra moisture. Make sure you keep the tin. Mix your jelly
powder with 225ml/1 cup of boiling water. (You will have more than you
need, but it's okay) Pour a bit of jelly into the pineapple tin. Add a
pineapple slice. Add some more jelly, another pineapple slice, etc.
continuing until you have returned all of the pineapple to the tin and
topping up with a bit of jelly at the top. You can discard the leftover
jelly or add an equal measure of cold water, stir and chill as extra
jelly. Put the tin of pineapple and jelly into the refrigerator and
chill overnight.

When you are ready to serve, shake the
coconut in a jar along with the green colouring and peppermint, to
evenly colour. Set the tin of pineapple in a bowl of very hot water to
almost come up the sides. Run a blunt knife carefully around the
inside of the tin to loosen. Tip the jelly out onto a cutting board.
If it doesn't come out easily, remove the base with a tin opener and
push it out gently. Slice in between the pineapple rings and place one
onto each serving dish. Garnish with some of the green coconut and
place half a cherry in the centre of each. Serve with plain yogurt or
whipped cream. Surprisingly tasty!

5 comments:

We have very llimited flavours of jelly over here Monique. Back home I would have used a peach, orange or lime even, but I had only black currant or strawberry to choose from in the sugar free. It tastes good and is a bit of a treat! xoxo

Once upon a time in a far-far away northern kingdom there was a girl who likes to cook. But since her mom was a one lousy housewife, girl had to seek for kitchen knowledge all over the world with her magical book-like device and a shallow english-speaking skills. Eventually she stumbled upon a marvellous library of receipts and know-hows, which was kept by a smart and proficient fairy, and started to learn from her notes ever since. As time went by, girl started to develop quite a strong friendly feeling for a fairy library keeper, which was fairly odd, considering it was a oneway communication. Anyhow one day as she entered the library she heard very disturbing news: the wise fairy appears to be sick. What a heavy revelation indeed. After few days the girl still couldn`t help herself but thinking about a suddenness of the diagnosis. To end up with all the worries she decided to check herself with healers to be sure her lifestyle won`t lead her to the similar disease.The girl`s roommate was supportive (and curious!) enough to run through medical check ups with her. So two yongsters encouraged each other, took all the tests and soon the results came. The girl seem to be all right, but her roommate appeared to be in a serious risk. With some friendly caring and a sensible humour those two are now learning about healthy lifestyle and minor habits, which can make some major differences.

So.. the fairy from the rainy island improved at least two lives of a complete strangers, without even realising it.

Once upon a time in a far-far away northern kingdom there was a girl who likes to cook. But since her mom was a one lousy housewife, girl had to seek for kitchen knowledge all over the world with her magical book-like device and a shallow english-speaking skills. Eventually she stumbled upon a marvellous library of receipts and know-hows, which was kept by a smart and proficient fairy, and started to learn from her notes ever since. As time went by, girl started to develop quite a strong friendly feeling for a fairy library keeper, which was fairly odd, considering it was a oneway communication. Anyhow one day as she entered the library she heard very disturbing news: the wise fairy appears to be sick. What a heavy revelation indeed. After few days the girl still couldn`t help herself but thinking about a suddenness of the diagnosis. To end up with all the worries she decided to check herself with healers to be sure her lifestyle won`t lead her to the similar disease.The girl`s roommate was supportive (and curious!) enough to run through medical check ups with her. So two yongsters encouraged each other, took all the tests and soon the results came. The girl seem to be all right, but her roommate appeared to be in a serious risk. With some friendly caring and a sensible humour those two are now learning about healthy lifestyle and minor habits, which can make some major differences.

So.. the fairy from the rainy island improved at least two lives of a complete strangers, without even realising it.

I think I baked my absolute most favourite cake of the year today! And, YES , that IS saying a lot!! I picked up the August issue of G...

Translate

Due to increased interest, I have decided to offer my illustrated cookbooklets on a permanent basis. At present there are five on offer, but I will be adding to them from time to time so do check back often. You can find them all by clicking on the COOKBOOKLET heading above. I think you will find that they are good value for money spent and they make delightful and economical gifts for your friends and family. Thanks so much for looking!

They are titled: A Very Royal Tea Party, The Great British Picnic, Christmas in The English Kitchen, Recipes to Keep, and Spring into Summer.

All are recipes that you will not find on my blog anywhere.

Feel Free to Grab My Button

Find Me

Colour ME Chuffed!!

Read My interview

Proud to Belong

I WON!!

APPLE PIE ROLL UPS

I can't pretend to know everything, but I more than welcome your questions and suggestions. Feel free to e-mail me on MarieAliceJoan at aol dot com and I'll endeavour to find out the answers to your most burning questions. Maybe we can learn together!